(Kitco News) - The gold market continues to tread water around $1,900 an ounce even as the U.S. sees some slowing momentum in the housing sector.
Tuesday, the Commerce Department said that U.S. September housing starts rose by nearly 2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.415 million units.
However, the data missed expectations as consensus forecasts compiled by most news organizations called for starts to be around 1.457 million units. August tally was revised to 1.388 million units.
Gold is seeing little reaction to the latest housing sector data. December gold futures last traded at $1,906.50 an ounce, down 0.24% on the day.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said the tally of building permits – important as an indicator of future construction activity – rose by more than 5% in September to an annualized rate of 1.553 million.
The growth in building permits beat expectations as economists expected to see 1.52 million permits issued last month. August data was revised up to 1.476 million permits.
The U.S. housing sector has been a significant bright spot in the U.S. economy that continues to feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Economists have noted that low interest rates will continue to support the housing market.